Draw Me A Heart
by Lex Complex
Summary: Friends, fireworks, and the chance to finally be herself. (ONE-SHOT, Reader's POV)


**A/N: I think Roman deserves a story in this archive where she isn't just a wallflower or something. This is something I threw together in under two hours, but I hope you'll like it. :)  
**

**-o-o-o-**

On your way home—half an hour before midnight—you notice how empty the streets are, and if the loud echo of cheering behind you is any indication, it means everyone in town has gathered for the New Year's Festival. As much as you want to be there with your friends, your younger brother has come down with the flu, and you don't have the heart to ask him tomorrow how he spent New Year's Eve by himself. Somewhere down the line, you spot a teenage boy running through the streets with a slice of toast in his mouth, muttering,"I'm late! I'm late!" You know this boy as Fujisaki Yuusuke, also known as Bossun.

About a dozen questions spring to your mind from this scene alone, and some of them are partly answered when you see Saotome Roman nearby. You recognize the place from one of your many chats with her—it's where she first met her so-called prince. You know said prince is Bossun, and you know Bossun's about forty feet away from her. She has her back turned to him, and you know he's going to bump into her if he keeps running downslope at that speed. But you also know it's going to be interesting, so you're silently wishing you had some popcorn.

"Oh man, I'm late! I'm late!" Bossun grumbles.

You find Roman's dramatic, slow-motion turning very helpful in setting the mood, but you realize it does nothing to keep Bossun from running her over. You see her literally turn white with astonishment as a lightning bolt background effect streaks behind her, and you really want to know how she does that so you can try it in front of a mirror. You almost blow your cover by being tempted to shout "Watch out!" as he draws dangerously close. Bossun stops at the very last second, a hairsbreadth away from her, with only one slice of toast spoiling a would-be kiss.

You will now curse every piece of toast for the rest of your life.

Roman tries to talk, but there's about three centimetres worth of bread pressed against her face so all you can really hear is, "Pgnauf, wasd ajt yuj dzahig holr?" For some reason—perhaps because you've known her long enough—you get that she's saying, "Prince, what are you doing here?" You're sure Bossun has that goofy embarrassed expression beneath those crumbs, you're sure Roman's blushing madly under that burnt bread, and you're sure you haven't smiled like an idiot like this in a long time.

You're surprised that Roman breaks away first. Aside from a little tinge of excitement from this unexpected encounter, you can tell she's not her usual self. "Um, Prince, what are you doing here?"

"Running while eating toast and screaming about how late I am?" He said that with such a straight face you can't help but think he's an idiot.

"O-Oh… I see…"

"So what are _you_ doing here? Shouldn't you be at the festival?"

"Um, I'm not set to appear in this chapter, so I'm… taking a walk?" She tries for a smile, but you're not convinced. It's painfully obvious she's not happy at all. She pulls out a manga from her bag and opens it up to Bossun. "See here? On page seventeen, we get a close-up of everyone enjoying the fireworks. Prince, you're in the top, leftmost panel right between Himeko and Saaya."

"Seriously, stop. The fourth wall's breaking." Bossun looks around nervously, as if afraid the ground would split open and swallow them. Once he's sure thefabric of space and time is in one piece, he turns to look at her. "So you're not coming? Everyone else is already there."

"Oh, I'm sure I'll pop out of a speech bubble or something near the end. You go on ahead, Prince." Even from this distance, you can hear the subtle bitterness in Roman's voice.

"No, you won't. We're going there together, and we're gonna spend the whole night with our friends. Then we'll laugh at how horrible everyone looks tomorrow because of lack of sleep."

Bossun,and his weird way with words, manages to elicit a smile from the artist's face. "But I'm—" Roman tries to hold up the manga once again, but he promptly snatches it from her hand.

"Screw this." He throws the magazine over his shoulders. "Look, can you do me a favor?"

She nods tentatively.

"Tonight, do what _you_ want. You don't have to follow that giant hand in the sky with his damn pen that turns you into a stickman because he thinks it's funny—okay, now I'm just rambling here. Just… be yourself, okay? You're always saying you're just a comic relief who's not even qualified to be my love interest anymore. To hell with that! You can ditch the crazy manga powers and we'll still be your friends."

At this point, you're worried Roman's either gonna burst into tears of mixed joy and sadness or melt into a puddle of lovestruck embarrassment. Maybe both, at the same time even.

To your surprise, she just breaks into a small smile. "Even if my character's taken out of the story for being too plain?"

Bossun scoffs. "Have you seen your popularity rating? Damn, now _I'm_ breaking the fourth wall. Just c'mere already, would'ya?"

He takes her hand in his and starts running down the street at full speed. Roman does her best to keep up, looking a bit winded at the sudden sprint, but you can see the excitement in her face clear as day. The two pass you by and yell a quick "Happy New Year!" You have just enough time to greet back before they disappear around the corner, heading to the festival, where Roman would undoubtedly have the best time she's ever had. From the familiar toast gig to the motivational speech that came out so naturally—you can't help but think Bossun had this all planned from the start. This just makes you like and respect the guy even more.

You pick up the discarded manga and turn to page seventeen. In the top, leftmost panel, between Himeko and Saaya and right next to Bossun, is Saotome Roman looking the happiest you've ever seen her.


End file.
